VDH: two themes combined

[cema]

Someone in my friends feed has been complaining about certain elite universities, and (separately) Hacker News linked to articles questioning how much elite education is worth. This is one theme; the other one is Obama's policies, especially foreign.

Victor Hanson managed to combined them in one essay. I am not sure what to make of it, but it reads nice.

Comments

[cema.livejournal.com]

I am not sure which way it goes. It is lonely on the top, and however tight president's ties with his team may be, at some point he is certain to feel the depth of responsibility that is in his hands. What he will do with it is a question, of course. Some may rise up to the challenge (like Truman did), some may not. Also, there is a lot on Obama's plate now, too much for an experienced statesman and way too much for a less experienced like him.

I wrote statesman, not sure he is one; too many politicians, not enough statesmen.

education

[vlader.livejournal.com]

I think that non-elite education is worthless for the most part. Ever been to the physics class with 350 students in attendace?
Ever had a TA not speaking any of 3 languages you know (including English). Ever had English professor making basic Grammar errors?

Welcome to the state school, MFs- and don't complain.

Just my 2 cents.

VB

[cema.livejournal.com]

There is a difference between quality education and elite education. I do not really share the (common recently) anti-Ivy League sentiment. However, I do not think that good non-"elite" schools provide education of lower standards. There is a difference in the CV or resume, and there are ways for a graduate from an elite school to capitalize on the name, but the point is that the name is overvalued.